After Yuan and Fei Yuyan’s performance, the judges pondered before giving their verdict.
Elder Jing turned to look at Senior Zou and Song Ling’er. Since he was the least experienced out of the three, he wanted to let the experts go first so that his judgment isn’t too far off, causing him to lose face.
However, neither Senior Zou nor Song Ling’er spoke even many moments later, causing Elder Jing to raise his eyebrows.
Then he turned to look at Yuan and Fei Yuyan. After clearing his throat, Elder Jing gave his verdict first for the first time.
"This is my first time hearing such unique music, and I must say, it was definitely a positive new experience overall. The synchronization between the two of you was also fantastic. However, compared to your previous performance, especially you, young man in the black mask, it was quite lacking and a disappointment if I am being honest. I had expected much more, but alas... Seven points from me."
"..."
The audience was silent throughout Elder Jing’s verdict, and nobody made any noises afterward, as they also felt that it was quite a fair assessment.
However, Senior Zou and Song Ling’er turned to look at Elder Jing with frowns on their faces.
’This guy... He also couldn’t fathom their performance?’ Senior Zou was speechless, but he wasn’t too shocked, since he also almost missed it.
Senior Zou then turned to look at Song Ling’er, who held a frown even deeper than his own on her beautiful face, causing him to swallow nervously.
"I... I will give you ten points." Senior Zou suddenly said, dumbfounding Elder Jing and the audience.
"What? Ten points? Are you sure about your verdict, Daoist Zou? I don’t mean to doubt your judgment, but how could you give them a similar score to what you gave Ai Wan and Wei Kang who was clearly superior? I hope you aren’t still affected by their previous performance..." Elder Jing couldn’t help but question Senior Zou’s decision.
Senior Zou shook his head and said, "I’ll let Senior Song explain..."
They turned to look at Song Ling’er, who spoke in a calm yet cold voice a moment later, "If you cannot fathom why Daoist Zou gave them ten points instead of a disgraceful seven points, you do not qualify to be a judge in this competition. If not for my respect for the Heaven and Earth Palace, I would have you removed from your position as judge already."
After her cold remarks, shocking Elder Jing, Song Ling’er turned to look at Fei Yuyan and Yuan.
"Once again, you have exceeded my expectations. Ten... No, thirteen points from me." Song Ling’er said, her gaze directly on Yuan’s figure.
"W-What? Did Senior Fairy Song just say ’thirteen points’?"
"Unless we are all hearing things— I think she did..."
"Is it even possible to give more than ten points? And why thirteen points?"
"Maybe it’s to make up for Elder Jing’s seven points, making it a total of 30 points..."
"Why would she do that, though? Even Senior Zou gave them ten points. I cannot fathom their reasons for doing so."
"Perhaps there was something about their performance that only those two noticed? After all, they’re the judges."
The audience went into an uproar after hearing Senior Zou and Song Ling’er’s puzzling verdict.
After all, how could they give Yuan’s team a perfect score when Ai Wan and Wei Kang couldn’t achieve that kind of score after playing God Descends from Heaven, a song that’s objectively harder to play?
"You must be wondering why I gave you such a score." Song Ling’er suddenly said as she looked at Fei Yuyan’s direction who held a confused look on her face.
Upon hearing Song Ling’er’s words, Fei Yuyan nodded with a dazed look on her face. While she was pretty satisfied with their performance, she didn’t think it was worthy of such a high score.
Song Ling’er then said, "Your performance overall was great, but it wasn’t anything too amazing, and it would be worth at most 7 points if not for the other factors."
"The other factors...?" Fei Yuyan raised her eyebrows.
Song Ling’er nodded and said, "Your partner’s performance."
’Yuan’s performance?’
Song Ling’er continued, "Your partner displayed a shocking level of talent and skills by following your pace flawlessly, which earned the extra points. I normally wouldn’t do something like this, but I know very well that he could’ve performed much better if he wasn’t limited by you."
"If he’d played the zither at his own level without any restrictions, the performance would’ve definitely turned out better. However, if he’d done that, you would not have been able to play together, simply because of the fact that the disparity between your abilities is just that vast, and this is not a solo competition, so he sacrificed his own performance in order to match yours."
"..."
Fei Yuyan was shocked speechless after learning the real reason behind their verdict, and she turned to look at Yuan with a pained expression on her face.
"I’m sorry, Disciple Yuan... It seems like I will be a burden to you no matter what I do..." Fei Yuyan said to him a moment later with teary eyes.
"I..." Yuan didn’t know what he should say in this situation since this is the first time he’s been put into such an awkward situation.
"You don’t have to say anything to me. I know that I cannot compare to you, nor can I catch up to you, and that’s not your fault. Although I may continue to be a burden until the end of this competition, let’s play to the best of our abilities, okay?" Fei Yuyan said to him after wiping her eyes and showing him a smile.
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"..."
After a moment of silence, Yuan suddenly turned to look at Song Ling’er and said, "I have a suggestion, Senior Song."
"What is it?" Song Ling’er raised her eyebrows in a curious manner.
"As you’d said, I didn’t perform at my best, and our performance was only above average, so we don’t deserve such a high score no matter how you spin it. Therefore, allow me— by myself— to play another song to make up for the points, or at least justify it somewhat." Yuan said, surprising her and everyone there.